LulzSec Reborn? Not Likely, Says F-Secure

Earlier this month the FBI arrested core members of hacking group LulzSec using intelligence gained by interrogating "Sabu", the group's nominal leader. That seemed like the end of the LulzSec story, until a group calling itself "LulzSec Reborn" surfaced this week with a new collection of hacks. F-Secure's Chief Research Office Mikko Hypponen strongly doubts this is the same group, as does the company's Security Advisor, Sean Sullivan.

"It's highly unlikely there's even a single guy in the new LulzSec who would have been in the original LulzSec," said Hypponen. "For all we know, LulzSec 2.0 could be one guy in his basement who came up with a clever idea of calling himself the new LulzSec." Sullivan agrees, stating, "If LulzSec is back, they're different hackers, as all of the original LulzSec members have been identified."

LulzSec or AntiSec? Asked about a promise by Anonymous to revive LulzSec, Sullivan pointed out that the actual promise from Anonymous involved Operation AntiSec in general, not specifically LulzSec. As for actually re-launching LulzSec, Sullivan said, "I’m very skeptical that it will work. The hacker community has grown even more ideological in the last year and hacking for 'Lulz' just doesn’t seem like something that can be coordinated or driven in the same way that 'AntiSec' was."

Of the alleged LulzSec Reborn, Sullivan opined, "The LulzSec brand was a historical one-off and this latest group of actors has yet to demonstrate any original ideas. So far they are just copycats, and that won’t take them very far." Actually getting existing members back together could even be dangerous, noted Sullivan. "They certainly know they can't trust one another at this point for fear that anybody could be FBI."

What the Future HoldsHacking isn't going away. "There will always be attackers," said Hypponen. "Some of them are motivated by money, but that's not the case here. These guys want to hack for whatever reason and will find a reason to justify what they are doing."

However, big-time hacking just "for the lulz" will end eventually. "The first thing that will improve the situation is an improved economy," said Sullivan. "Better job opportunities will have an effect on the “talent pool” for this sort of thing. Another thing that will change the situation is law enforcement. As more and more Lulz/Anon hackers are arrested and sentenced it will seem less and less worth it to those involved."

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